New national documentary spotlights critical issues facing America’s older suburbs

“A Crack in the Pavement,” a new, national public television documentary that examines critical issues facing America’s older suburbs and, will have it’s Cleveland premiere on Thursday, February 11, 2010 from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs Glickman-Miller Hall, Atrium. The film is narrated by Peter Coyote

The film screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker and a distinguished panel of Cleveland area experts and public officials. The event is free and open to the public. It is hosted by the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and co-sponsored by the Northeast Ohio First Suburbs Consortium.

Registration is requested on-line at www.urban.csuohio.edu/forum or call 216.523.7330.

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Event Information

Ohio's First Suburbs play a leading role in The New Metropolis, a groundbreaking two-part documentary on the rise, fall and revitalization of America's first suburbs, produced by award-winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice. Episode One is A Crack in the Pavement, Rebuilding America's First Suburbs. Narrated by actor Peter Coyote, this episode follows the story of two Cincinnati area public officials and their efforts to keep their towns stable and healthy despite difficult times to repair and improve infrastructure and lure businesses.

Following the film will be a discussion Moderated by Tom Bier, Executive in Residence, Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at CSU.

Panelists include: Andrea Torrice, Filmmaker; Bill Cervenik, Mayor, City of Euclid; Michael K. Lyons, Mayor, The Village of Richfield; Joanna Pinkerton, Transportation System Development Office, Ohio Department of Transportation; Mandy Bishop, Deputy Director, Transportation System Development Division, Ohio Department of Transportation; Joyce Braverman, Director, Planning Department, City of Shaker Heights; and William A. Sanderson, Vice President of Joint Ventures, Forest City Land Group.

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About the Film

“A Crack in the Pavement, Rebuilding America's First Suburbs” is Episode One of a just-released two-part documentary series called The New Metropolis. The series highlights the challenges and opportunities facing America’s older cities and suburbs. This episode follows the story of two Cincinnati area public officials and their efforts to keep their towns stable and healthy despite difficult times to repair and improve infrastructure and lure businesses.

The two-part documentary series, produced by award winning filmmaker Andrea Torrice, is the first public examination of issues facing America’s older, “first ring” suburbs. Considered the birthplace of the American Dream, these towns were built during a period of national prosperity and financed with government support after World War II. Now many of these once highly desirable communities face the same challenges urban areas do: growing poverty, white flight, a crumbling infrastructure, abandonment, and the continual lure of newer communities further from the cities.

The two-part documentary is distributed by American Public Television and will be airing on Cleveland public television in the spring of 2010. It is available to the public through Bull frog Films at: www.bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/nm.html.

The New Metropolis series was made possible with the generous support of the Ford, Surdna, George Gund, Annie E. Casey and William Penn and Stephen H. Wilder Foundations and is a project of the Center for Independent Documentary.

For information on the series, events and broadcasts visit www.thenewmetropolis.com.

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